The shipment of animal products containing bones poses a unique problem which requires specialized packaging devices and techniques. It is first of all desirable to ship the animal products in inexpensive, air-tight containers to avoid the dissemination of odors or contamination. Plastic bags are one ideal form of containment in most respects since the plastic is air-tight and can be easily sealed. Further, plastic bags are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle and store. Unfortunately, the bones contained in animal products themselves are often sharp and capable of rupturing a plastic bag. For this reason, it is frequently the practice to place the animal products in a receptacle having semi-rigid and less easily penetrated walls such as a cardboard carton. It has, according, become the practice to ship these products in containers known as "bone shields" which are essentially cardboard cartons that are placed within a larger enclosing plastic bag. Since large numbers of these enclosures must be frequently used, it is obviously desirable to be able to store them in a compact manner. At the same time, it is equally desirable that the bags and boxes form an integrated, easily assembled and erected unit so that valuable time is not lost in erecting and preparing each bone shield for use.
It has been suggested in the prior art to provide sealable plastic bags having contained therein disassembled cartons which require extensive assembling before they are erected and ready for use. It is also known to provide previously erected, ready to use cartons which can be inserted into plastic envelopes of suitable size, but these units are difficult and bulky to store.
It is accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a pre-formed collapsible bone shield which is contained within an enveloping plastic bag. It is another object of the present invention to provide a bone shield system which prevents bones from penetrating and rupturing the enclosing air-tight or vaccum sealed bag. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an easily erectable bone shield system for the shipment of animal products containing bones which can be stored in a collapsed, flat configuration, but which can be erected for use by simple manual manipulation of the pre-formed and bonded structure within the enclosing bag.